throw up the sponge

== English == === Etymology === From a custom of the boxing ring, the person employed to sponge a pugilist between rounds throwing his sponge in the air in token of defeat. === Pronunciation === === Verb === throw up the sponge (third-person singular simple present throws up the sponge, present participle throwing up the sponge, simple past threw up the sponge, past participle thrown up the sponge) (intransitive, idiomatic, slang, archaic) To give up a contest; to acknowledge defeat; to throw in the towel.